Important change to The Great Medium Wave Grey Line Challenge

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by Jock Elliott, KB2GOM

On the very helpful advice of 13dka, who noted that “this should be optional – the grayline happens twice a day, with the morning grayline favoring westerly propagation paths and the evening grayline the east,” participants in the challenge can now choose either the grey line in the morning as the sun rises, or the grey line in the evening as the sun sets . . . but not both.

Otherwise, the rules remain the same, and the challenge will be open for participation with the grey line at dawn tomorrow.

  1. Frequency range is the medium wave band: 520-1710 kHz
  2. From one hour before Civil Twilight your local time on Saturday, October 14, to one hour after Civil Twilight at your location . . . at either sunrise or sunset.
  3. Any radio with any antenna, but must be the radio at your location (no using remote internet radios)
  4. The listener must hear the signal in real time
  5. The stations must be ID’ed by listening to the signal.
  6. Your report should include:
    • Your name (or Internet handle)
    • Your receiver and antenna (stay with the same setup from beginning to end; if you use multiple setups, provide a separate report for each).
    • Your location
    • The time, the frequency, and the ID of each station heard
    • The total mileage of your top five most distant stations.

Thank you 13dka for the sage advice.

You can find when Civil Twilight begins at your location by visiting www.wunderground.com  . Enter your location, click on “Full Forecast” then scroll down to the “Astronomy” section.

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Imagine the sound of international radio

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Hi all SWLing Post Community, FastRadioBurst 23 here bringing you news of this week’s Imaginary Stations transmissions. Beamed to Europe via Shortwave Gold on Sunday 15th October 2023 at 2000 hrs UTC on 3975 & 6160 kHz, we have the third episode of Skybird Radio International bringing you music and culture from all over the world. Tune in and enjoy some great jazz, electronica, pop and dub.

A few hours later via the transmitters of WRMI on Monday 16th October we have a different episode of Skybird Radio International. The broadcast is at 0200 UTC on 9395 kHz and then repeated at 0300 UTC on 9455 kHz. No genres or no agendas, just some cool sounds from around planet earth featuring a collection of international platters that really do matter. Enjoy!

For more information on the shows please email [email protected] and check out our old shows here.

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The weirdest shortwave tuning technique

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By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM

You never know what you will encounter while simply “tuning around” on the HF frequencies. Just a few days ago around 2 pm local time, I happened upon the Maritime Mobile Service Network. Net control was being swapped from one ham to another, and it soon became clear that the hams running the net were smooth, articulate, and friendly to those checking into the net. The frequency was 14.300 USB.

According to the Maritime Mobile Service Network’s website:

Our primary purpose now is that of handling legal third party traffic from maritime mobiles, both pleasure, and commercial and overseas-deployed military personnel. We also help missionaries in foreign countries, and volunteer net control stations from throughout North America and the Caribbean maintain the network. Furthermore, these stations are assisted by relay stations to ensure total coverage of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean & Caribbean Seas, and the eastern Pacific Ocean. The network, in particular, has been formally recognized for its work with emergency traffic by the Dept. of Homeland Security, the United States Coast Guard, and the National Weather Service, to mention a few.

The network acts as a weather beacon for ships during periods of severe weather and regularly repeats high seas and tropical weather warnings and bulletins from the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center.

The Maritime Mobile Service Net is operational every day from 12:00pm until 9:00pm Eastern Standard Time, and from 12:00pm until 10:00pm Eastern Daylight Time, on the 20-meter *Global Emergency Center Of Activity frequency of 14.300 MHz as outlined by the International Radio Union.

* At the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 meeting in 2005, it was decided that certain frequencies on certain amateur bands would be designated as “Global Emergency Center Of Activity” (GECOA) frequencies. The purpose of establishing the GECOA frequencies was to designate a place for passing emergency traffic on amateur frequencies, should the need arise. Over the next few years, Regions 2 and 3 followed suit in making the following frequencies world-wide GECOA frequencies. Those frequencies are: 21.360 MHz, 18.160 MHz, 14.300 MHz, 7.240 MHz, 7.060 MHz, 3.985 MHz, and 3.750 MHz. These and other frequencies, with their band plans, can also be viewed at www.iaru-r2.org/band-plan.

You can find out more about the MMSN here: https://mmsn.org/

Wow, I thought, this is definitely a net that I would like to listen to from time to time. Since MMSN operates from noon until 10 pm, I decided that night to see if I could hear it in bed on my CCrane Skywave SSB with its relatively small telescoping antenna. I extended the whip antenna skyward, clamped on the headphones, and listened to 14.300 USB. Nothing at first . . . but then I could hear some faint modulation in the background. Then, on a whim, I picked up the Skywave and started to wiggle it around, moving the whip in different orientations, in the hope of improving the signal.

To my surprise, it worked. I could hear the signal improve in some orientations of the whip and get worse in other directions. After a bit of experimentation, I got a positive ID on the Maritime Mobile Service Network with the whip at a 45 degree angle to vertical and pointed toward the North. Any other orientation yielded poorer results.

Now, here’s the thing: in years that I have been involved in messing about with radios – including the years I wrote for Passport To World Band Radio, QST, Popular Communications and Monitoring Times — never once did see or read anyone suggesting that picking up your portable shortwave and pointing the whip in different directions and orientations might improve the signal . . . not once.

Back in March, Thomas did a survey and found that 36.8 percent of SWLing readers used portables radios as their “daily drivers.” So, while it might look weird and might draw some stares if you are in a public place, try picking up your portable and pointing the whip at different angles and orientations to see if it improves a difficult to copy signal.

Based on my experimentation on both ham and shortwave broadcast signals, you might just be pleasantly surprised.

And if you already knew about this, or if you try it and it works, I would love to hear about it in the comments below.

 

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HamSCI Reminder: Contribute to ionospheric research during the October 14, 2023 solar eclipse!

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Many thanks to SWling Post contributor, Nick Hall-Patch, who shares the following announcement:

How DXers can contribute to ionospheric research during the 14 October 2023 solar eclipse

There will be an annular solar eclipse on 14 October, 2023 when, at totality, the size of the Moon’s disk will appear slightly smaller than the size of the Sun’s disk.  This eclipse will affect all of North America, as well as Central and part of South America, as seen in the map below.

AM Broadcast Band DXers know that the blocking out of radiation from the sun during a total solar eclipse can introduce temporary night time listening conditions over an area far beyond the path of totality.

The upcoming annular eclipse is expected to have a similar effect on daytime medium wave listening conditions as would a total solar eclipse, and should not be missed by DXers.  Live listening can be done during the eclipse, as well as recording the entire medium wave band, using SDRs (software defined radios).

There might be more to our DXing results than new and unexpected receptions of distant radio stations, however.  The rapidly changing listening conditions will be indicating a similarly turbulent ionosphere, and DXers’ documenting those listening conditions through SDR recordings could provide information that will be useful to scientists who want to gain a better understanding of the Earth’s ionospheric dynamics.

How can DXers contribute to ionospheric research?

HamSCI is an organization of volunteer citizen-scientists and professional researchers who study upper atmospheric and space physics, and will be interested in examining MW DXers’ wideband SDR recordings made during both eclipses, and indeed, in having DXers assist with HamSCI’s research. In fact, IRCA members contributed to HamSCI’s work about the 2017 total solar eclipse by contributing their DXing results: https://hamsci.org/sites/default/files/publications/2019_am-eclipse2017_hall-patch.pdf

HamSCI is still welcoming experienced medium wave DXers who are using good quality SDRs, especially in the southeastern USA and in Latin America. Please go to https://hamsci.org/mw-recordings/ and discover how to make sure that those DX files will also qualify as scientific data that can become part of the public record.

It will be important to have many participants in this project.  To sign up, please go to https://hamsci.org/mw-recordings/ and discover how to make sure that those DX files will also qualify as scientific data that can become part of the public record.

Those interested in finding out about all the research that HamSCI will be doing during the upcoming eclipses, check out https://hamsci.org/eclipse .  Especially if you are also an amateur radio operator, there are several other ways that you might contribute to the project.

But, even if you can’t contribute to scientific research, don’t forget to get out there and DX during the eclipse. You might be surprised at what you can hear.

 

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Announcing DXtreme Monitor Log 14!

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and supporter, Bob Raymond with  DXtreme who shares the following product announcement:

Product Announcement 

DXtreme Monitor Log 14™ 

DXtreme Software™ has released a new version of its popular logging program for radio and TV monitoring  enthusiasts: DXtreme Monitor Log 14. Its familiar, uncluttered, industry-standard Windows® interface lets  listeners and DXers log the stations they’ve heard using features that enhance their monitoring enjoyment.

New Features in Version 14 

Signal Modes, Transmission Modes, Grid Square Tracking 

  • We added a Signal Modes field to let users specify the signal mode their receiver is tuned to (for example,  AM, CW, FM, LSB, USB, RTTY, etc.) plus a Transmission Modes field to let users specify the transmission mode  the station is transmitting (for example, CW, FAX, FT8, HFDL, MIL-STD-188-141A, SSB, STANAG 4285, etc.). And we added Signal and Transmission Mode modules to let users maintain tables of signal and transmission  modes.
  • We added a Transmission Mode Details box to allow users to type free-form information about the  transmission mode received, such as baud rate, bandwidth, etc. (for example, 1200bps/L). New Log Variables enable users to share Signal, Transmission, and Detail mode information so readers (and users) can  reproduce the monitoring environment and log (or relog) the stations. Here are two  examples: “1200bps/L STANAG 4285 crypto tfc on USB” and “MIL-188-110A/B continuous mode idle on LSB.” 
  • We added support for tracking Maidenhead grid squares, which is useful when monitoring/logging stations  not located in traditional countries, like aircraft and ships operating in international airspace and waters. Grid  squares are calculated from specified latitudes and longitudes. Both Performance and Stations reports let you  track grids. Search functions let you find log entries for viewing or editing based on their grid squares.

Verification By Improv Imaging 

Similar to the legacy Verification By Audio feature, where the presence of an audio file in a log entry designates  the station as “Verified By Audio,” we added a Verification By Improv Imaging feature which counts the station as  “Verified By Improv Image” if the Shows ID check box on the Improv Imaging tab is selected, indicating the  presence of an ID on the window of a captured digital software application (such as PC-HFDL).  Performance, Stations, and Log Entries reports let you track verifications by traditional QSLs, presence of Audio  files, and presence of Improv Images for which the Shows ID check box is selected.

Schedule Checker Monitoring Advice and Tuning 

  • When Schedule Checker advises users to monitor a station for a new or verified Country, it does so now for  the Class (SWBC, Ute, Ham, etc.) and QSL Type (Verified By QSL, Audio, or Improv Image) selected in Properties. The foreground and background colors that indicate the Schedule Checker’s monitoring advice can be defined by users in Properties. The colors appear in an upgraded legend on the Schedule Checker.
  • Users can now tune their radios to the schedule item’s signal mode and frequency by selecting the desired  signal mode in the Signal Mode list box and double-clicking the schedule item.

Solar Indices Enhancements 

  • Acquisition of current solar indices has been improved on the Monitor Log and Schedule Checker windows. • Editing of solar indices has been added to the Monitor Log window for when NOAA is down.
  • We restored historic solar indices adjustments based on date and time changes made on the Monitor  Log window provided users have downloaded historic solar indices from the NOAA FTP site into the Solar subfolder. An interface is provided on the Edit menu of the Monitor Log window for this FTP activity.

For more information about New Features, click https://www.dxtreme.com/monitorlog_whatsnew.htm.

Standard Features 

Logging Stations 

Monitor Log 14 lets users log all kinds of stations: radio, television, broadcast, utility, Amateur Radio, military,  etc. across the radio spectrum.

Finding Stations to Monitor 

The Schedule Checker lets users import schedules from Aoki, EiBi, and FCC AM web sites and display broadcast  schedule data according to the filter criteria they specify. Users can filter schedule information by band,  frequency, station, country, time of day, language, and more. EiBi schedules also include utility stations.

For each schedule item, Schedule Checker queries the Monitor Log 14 database to let users know – through user-defined, foreground and background display colors – whether they need to monitor a station for a brand new or verified country. The colors appear in a legend on the Schedule Checker window. When Schedule  Checker advises users to monitor a station for a new or verified Country, it does so for the Class (SWBC, Ute,  Ham, etc.) and QSL Type (Verified By QSL, Audio, or Improv Image) selected in Properties.

Reporting Reception 

Users can create customized paper and e-mail reception reports for sending to stations plus log entry data  shares for reporting catches to clubs and magazines. Using the Script Editor window, users can create and edit  scripts that format reception reports, eReports, and shares to their liking. The software prompts users to select  the script they want to use. Dozens of scripts come with Monitor Log 14. Users can also send eQSL requests to  hams automatically via the popular https://www.eqsl.cc site and update their databases with downloaded  eQSL.cc Inbox records.

Imaging 

Improv Imaging lets users associate ad hoc images with log entries using Capture, Scan, and Clipboard  functions. Captures of stations received on digital applications, waterfall displays, facsimile and Amateur TV  pictures are popular. The Improv Imaging tab and Application let users view images anytime, and an Improv  Image Explorer lets them peruse their entire collection and display associated log entries. A QSL Imaging facility  functions the same as Improv Imaging for associating QSLs.

Other Features 

  • Rig Control — Retrieves the frequency and mode from supported radios and permits tuning from the  Schedule Checker and Direct Tune. Rig control is provided through integration with Afreet Omni-Rig  (http://www.dxatlas.com) and CAT for SDR applications like SDR Console (https://www.sdr-radio.com) and SDRuno (https://www.sdrplay.com).
  • Audio Archiving — Lets users maintain an audio archive of stations heard.
  • Reporting and Searching — Produces Performance, Stations, and Log Entry reports that track the  performance and progress of the user’s monitoring station and provides criteria-based log entry searches.
  • Documentation — Context-sensitive Procedural Help, Field Help, and Microhelp are accessible on every  window to provide instructions quickly. Installation Instructions and a Getting Started Guide also included.

Supported Operating Systems, Pricing, Contact Information 

DXtreme Monitor Log 14 runs in 32- and 64-bit versions of Microsoft® Windows® 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista® XP.  Retails for $94.99 USD for Internet distribution (discounted pricing for upgrades available). Product support by  Internet e-mail. For more info, visit (https://www.dxtreme.com) or write [email protected].

SWLing Post readers should note that DXtreme was one of our first company supporters. Their ad revenue helps bring the SWLing Post to you daily. Thanks, DXtreme!

Click here to check out DXtreme Monitor Log 11.

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Radio Waves: Eclipses and Radio Waves, Radio World’s Letters, Eifel Radio Days Special, and AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Andrea Borgnino, Dennis Dura, ______ for the following tips:

Eclipses do odd things to radio waves. An army of amateur broadcasters wants to find out why (BBC Future)

It’s the huge tower in his back yard that gives Todd Baker’s hobby away. Bristling with antennae, the 30m (100ft) structure is taller than many of the mature trees nearby. Baker, an industrial conveyor belt salesman from Indiana, goes not just by his name, but also his call-sign, the short sequence of letters and numbers that he uses to identify himself over the air: W1TOD. He is a member of the amateur radio, or ham radio, community.

“You name it, I’ve been in it,” he says, referring to different radio systems, including citizens band, or CB radio, that he has dabbled with over the years. “Communications were just plain-o cool to me.”

Now, he dabbles in celestial citizen science, too. On 14 October, he and hundreds of other amateur radio enthusiasts will deliberately fill the airwaves during an annular solar eclipse, as it crosses the Americas. They’ll do it again next April, when a full solar eclipse becomes visible from Newfoundland to Mexico.

Why? Solar eclipses are known to affect radio transmissions, and Baker is planning to take part in a giant experiment designed to monitor how cosmic events affect radio broadcasts. [Continue reading…]

Letters: AM’s Future, Shortwave’s Past and More (Radio World)

[…]Shortwave radios don’t tell tales
Several points of interest regarding shortwave broadcasting. Although I have been retired from Voice of America as a Foreign Service Officer and field engineer for over a decade, several points are still worth noting.

In my experience of living and working around the world for 20 years, most radios sold overseas are a combination AM/FM and shortwave. So there are radios available to the general public.

Second is the beauty of shortwave. Broadcast can be sent over large distances and be highly effective at reaching the desired audience. AM broadcasting can only reach a smaller listener area and without extremely high power must be in rather close proximity to the intended audience. FM broadcasting has even greater limitations in respect to closeness to the intended listener.

As we have adopted new technology such as the global internet, we don’t seem to have a grasp of its inherent limitations. I witnessed this firsthand in the Middle East where websites or information deemed inappropriate are easily blocked or deleted from a country’s internet stream. Proxy servers and other VPN methods do little for the individuals striving for freedom of information. Information regarding using and searching for these services is easily gathered by internet service providers and can be used to intimidate or prosecute.

Shortwave radios don’t tell tales. Frequency memories can be deleted easily, and there is no way to tell what broadcast were being listened to, especially on analog scale radios.

We need to reevaluate our strategic thinking and remember that shortwave works effectively and has for many years. People around the world have relied on SW broadcast for years as a source of reliable news and information that their host countries did not want them to hear.

— Walter Konetsco

[Click here to read the entire article with other reader letters to the editor…]

Eifel Radio Days Anniversary Broadcast

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gérard Koopal, who shares the following announcement: 

On October 29, 1923, the first “entertainment broadcast” broadcast went on air in the Vox House in Berlin. The first regular radio broadcasts began.

The Eifel Radio Days will celebrate this unique anniversary from October 27th to 30th, 2023.
Of course again live and in mono from the studio in the former alternative headquarters of the NRW state government.

facebook.com/EifelerRadiotage
twitter.com/EifelerRadioTag

https://www.eifeler-radiotage.de/[email protected]

Gérard Koopal

S. 1669, AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2023 (Congressional Budget Office)

S. 1669 would direct the Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue a rule requiring that AM broadcast stations be accessible in all passenger motor vehicles manufactured in, imported into, or shipped within the United States. (Passenger motor vehicles are those designed to primarily carry their operator and up to 12 passengers; the definition does not include motorcycles.) The bill would require DOT to issue the rule within one year of enactment and to report to the Congress at least every five years on the rule’s effects.

Additionally, S. 1669 would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the role AM broadcasts in passenger vehicles play in disseminating emergency alerts through the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. That study would need to be completed within 18 months of enactment.

Using information on the cost of issuing similar rules and studies, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost DOT and GAO a total of $1 million over the 2024-2028 period. Any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

Additionally, S. 1669 would authorize DOT to assess civil penalties on manufacturers that fail to comply with the new rule; such penalties are recorded as revenues. CBO estimates that any additional revenues collected would total less than $500,000 over the 2024-2033 period because the number of violations would probably be small.

Click here to download the full report.

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Next Saturday: The Great Medium Wave Grey Line Challenge!

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Let’s have some fun for a couple of hours chasing MW DX along the grey line.

Here are the rules:

  1. Frequency range is the medium wave band: 520-1710 kHz
  2. From one hour before Civil Twilight your local time on Saturday, October 14, to one hour after Civil Twilight at your location.
  3. Any radio with any antenna, but must be the radio at your location (no using remote internet radios)
  4. The listener must hear the signal in real time
  5. The stations must be ID’ed by listening to the signal.
  6. Your report should include:
    • Your name (or Internet handle)
    • Your receiver and antenna (stay with the same setup from beginning to end; if you use multiple setups, provide a separate report for each).
    • Your location
    • The time, the frequency, and the ID of each station heard
    • The total mileage of your top five most distant stations.

A final point: this is not a contest; it is a challenge. The reward for every participant will be fun and fellowship.

You can find when Civil Twilight begins at your location by visiting www.wunderground.com  . Enter your location, click on “Full Forecast” then scroll down to the “Astronomy” section.

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